Brigands of Kyoto
by ROMVLVS
Summary: A not so peaceful day in the life of Niitsu Kakunoshin.
1. Chapter 1

Somewhere in the high risen foothills between the Kitayama and the Nishiyama mountains, Niitsu Kakunoshin lived.

He was a rather seemingly young man. His looks defied his true age. But his aura gave him away as a wise and worldly sage. He lived in a large handmade hut on a shrouded ledge overlooking the city of Kyoto. Although he was unassuming and calm, his rather large physical exterior and self-righteous grimace belied his true nature, that of a kind caring man, who had once raised an orphan as his own.

But rarely would anyone dare venture to his sanctum. He would trudge down to the city and his pots and pans sold out immediately. No one stopped to chat with him. He was one scary hermit. With a talent for making sturdy pots. The housewives of Kyoto used to vent out their frustrations by smashing pots and other vessels. And this reclusive hermit made quite a living as a potter, most of which was used for his love of sake.

But that was not really who he was. His real name, even he himself had forgotten. Not due to delirious senility but as a sign of his loyalty to his art. His name now, was the mantle he carried. He was "Hiko Seijuro Jusandai" Master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu.


	2. Chapter 2

Ogasuwara Kentaro was an ambitious man. He wanted to build his own empire. And he had a few loyal men willing to sacrifice their own lives for him. And a plan. Not to mention the very utterance of his name sent the peasants running helter skelter.

But after all things said and done, he was just another brigand.

And his mighty plan was to setup a base in the mountains. And then increase his operations from the puny extortion racket he had started to various other avenues of crime. His final goal was to be the progenitor of the Ogasuwara clan. An all encompassing crime syndicate that controlled the government's workings from behind the scenes. "I have an ace up my sleeve!" he had declared whilst proclaiming superiority to the other brigands. "I have studied the manslayer Battousai and learnt his unbeatable technique."

The band of brigands after ravaging the outskirts of Kyoto and content with their haul of the day put their plan in action. They, in their typical brigand fashion, yelled loudly announcing their arrival marched up the trail in the mountains. After finding no one atop a tiny plateau, made camp in their drunken stupor and fell asleep.

At noon, when the piercing sunlight breached their eyelids, they woke.

Ogasuwara Kentaro rallied his troops. "Here and now! We, the Ogasuwara clan, make our impenetrable fortress. THAT" He said pointing the protruding ledge. "IS OUR VANTAGE POINT!" "What about the creepy potmaker?" belched a gruntholding up his naginata in defence. "Your lack of faith is disturbing!" Kentaro bellowed. The brigands made their way up to the hermits hut. Wielding their cheap katana's and naginata's, they ordered the wretched tramp to show his fugly face! Out came a large burly man, covered in a Pristine white cape with red lining. His partially hair covered face was anything but fugly. He had a pine stick with him. "Isn't that stick too small for walking, old man." Kentaro yelled. "What do you boys need?" the man inquired in a firm voice.

"We are taking this place as our base. And you are gonna leave now! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA" they all echoed in unison. The man pointed to a higher ledge on the opposite side. "That would make a better stronghold." He chuckled. "But we want this!" Kentaro sniggered. "And if you don't leave now, we will build our fort over your grave!" "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA" all of them laughed domineeringly. The man grinned and asked them to do so promptly.

Kentaro ordered his men to charge. The first two advanced, daggers swishing. The hermit dropped his pine stick. The two men flanked him. He kneeled as the came towards him. As they stabbed the knives at him, he leaned forward and rocketed upwards, his large fists gutting the lanky dagger twirling thugs. As he stood, the two small men hung atop his fists. They dropped their blades, and then they slowly dropped down to the ground, eyes bulging, saliva and blood dribbling from their mouths. Hiko Seijuro did not take well to insolence. His calm emotionless eye had changed. There was a fury in them. And a tinge of pleasure. Kentaro ordered the two largest men standing in the back, with even larger clubs to smash him. As they walked through the men, Seijuro picked up his stick and grinned at them. As the two stepped out from the rough formation, a nervous looking man wringing his katana whispered to the men standing beside him "I have got a bad felling about this." Proving that brute strength does not win wars, Seijuro used his Godspeed to quickly dispatch the brutish large men, by use of speed and technique, using the pine stick to dismantle the men with nerve strikes. As they lay in twitching heaps, Seijuro taunted Kentaro, "And I haven't even unsheathed my sword yet." Kentaro yelled at all his reaming cronies to kill Hiko. 6 naginata wielding brigands advanced, the blades sticking out. Five katana brandishing thugs walked a few paces behind them. Hiko stood his ground and as they attacked, he deftly spun around dodging every naginata stab. Then when he was surrounded, the brigands began circling him. They charged at him, but he kept evading all their attacks. After he had enough play, Hiko unveiled his masterfully crafted Shirasaya Nihonto. It made the worn dull looking weapons the brigands carried even bleaker. He twirled it around and then his right foot stepped back he bowed, launching his own blitzkrieg. Although grossly outnumbered, the blinding assault decimated the brigands. Kentaro watched the flurry of blades and blood. As the dust settled, there stood the hermit, midst eviscerated bodies.

"I can get more men!" This is not the end!" Kentaro screamed. "If you live." Seijuro added venomously. "HAH! I know more than you, I know hidden Mitsurugi. I watched Battousai kill! And you will die just like those men!" Kentaro unveiled his own sword, clearly a looted piece. It was quite ornate. He took a somewhat similar stance to Rai-Ryu-San. "Hammer Flash Strike" He yelled as he launched himself at Seijuro. Seijuro jumped in the air and landed on the rooftop of his hut. Kentaro dug his sword in the ground "Dor-Ryu-San" and pelted a slice of the earth at Seijuro that Seijuro blocked with his forearm. He threw his sword at Seijuro and when it was evaded he pulled at a string attached to its hilt and pulled it back with force. Seijuro jumped down as he just barely dodged that clever technique. "Lightning Dragon flash" Kentaro yelled and charged at Hiko, who blocked at with his sword. Kentaro attacked relentlessly, each strike fell on the Shirasaya Nihonto, none to touch the flesh of Hiko Seijuro.

Hiko Seijuro dropped his heavy cape and introduced himself. "I, am the Master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Hiko Seijuro Jusandai." Long pause "And your technique was … YOU! Did not even get the names of the techniques right." He clutched the hilt with both hands and brought it to his front, held it straight in front of him. "I will show you Hiten Mitsurugi. THIS IS THE TRUE POWER OF THE HITEN MITSURUGI RYU : KUZURUSAN!" As the word Kuzurusan hit the ears of Ogasuwara Kentaro, so did a piercing pain as he felt a piece of steel cut through his left shoulder, but before that pain has sunk in thoroughly, his right leg was on fire, so was his hand, his arms, it felt as if a dozen pikes were thrust in his skin simultaneously. The sheer pain awakened his every sense and overwhelmed it. He felt himself falling backwards. He couldn't control it. The sun blinded him for a moment. The he saw the sky below and the earth above him. And there stood Hiko Seijuro upside down, placing his sword in its pine sheath, gilded from the sunlight on his left.

Hiko Seijuro grimaced at the thought of having to clean up this mess. As if this whole week hadn't been antagonizing as it was, what with some local gang of brigands looting all the bars, he hadn't had a drop of sake all week and now this! He grimaced and grumbled more.


End file.
